The aforementioned Hoods were the standard on Sabres in the 80s. Interesting that these 'older design' roller furling units have held up so long in use.Īre any of them utilized in a roller reefing manner?Ī related subject thread I started a few days ago
(remember, the foil joints are all glued so dismantling is a cow of a job so avoid if possible.
#Hood seafurl 5 furling line installing portable#
Look for a guy with a portable swaging press or using swageless fittings, then if he's any good he'll be able to run a new stay through without having to dismantle all the foils, just with the furler laying on the dock. Again, the design of the furler works against you, but that's the way they do it, don't ask me why.Īssuming the news is not good, or you're not comfortable checking it out yourself, or the age of the stay is making you worry, you'll need a rigger. Far less common to get a failure here, but it does happen. When back on deck, undo the screws holding the torque tube to the top of the drum, then you should be able to lift the foils up as far as they'll go and slide the torque tube up out of the way and you *might* be able to access the wire exit from the bottom swage fitting to check it as well. and some useful photos of the rig and furler parts while you're there so you know whats up there and what tools you might need if something needs fixing sometime.
Take a tiny flat-bladed screwdriver with you when you go up.Whether you can or not depends on the installer, and differs on each furler, but if you can get away from the boat a bit and look through binoculars you might be able to tell whether its worth going up to take a look. This *should* give enough space at the top to be able to see the wire exiting from the top stay fitting when you are aloft. At this point the foil should slide down the stay a little further into the drum. Undo the clamp fasteners at the top of the torque tube.Mark with a pen or pencil on the foil where it exits from the top of the Torque Tube.Unfortunately correct Harken installs cover the stay just where you want to see it, but all is not necessarily lost. If you are comfortable and competent with going aloft you can inspect it yourself but you need to prepare the furler first. Also the design means that the foil covers the wire exit from the top stay fitting, just where you need to be able to see it. Generally failure will not be in the span of the wire, the problems happen at the ends, where the wire enters the terminal end fittings.Īs the joints of Harken furlers (other than ESP's) are glued together, often the stay doesn't get replaced or checked as often as it should. If it's had the same stay inside it all that time, then the wire would be the most important thing to check. Any visual sign, or sound, or feel of metal to metal contact (wear / scraping / anodising worn off) or grumbly movement (not smooth) should be investigated carefully until the reason is found and solved. Generally, if it's relatively easily rotated back and forth by hand, the bearings will be serviceable. If it's the stay inside that fails, then it happens suddenly (and usually expensively ie dismasting and a trashed headsail is usually the minimum)Ī furler should last 20 years. If its bearing failure, it usually happens gradually unless the boat has not been used for an extended period.